What's happening with general education, and how might we rethink it? This Thursday from 2-3 pm ET we're hosting Bard College professor Roosevelt Montás to discuss his work on the core curriculum. georgetown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

The best joke I've heard about the McConnell story: he's in "rigor tortoise".

The very rich are buying "snow rooms," cold chambers wherein artificial snow falls from the ceiling. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/04/s...

"The world has moved beyond a water crisis and into a state of global water bankruptcy"

Heh:

I appreciate this British perspective on my Peak Higher Ed book:

Michigan State University president Kevin Guskiewicz said he was moving to Clemson, then decided to stay at MSU after all. The board and senior admin micropolitics must be wild now.

How do Americans use and think about AI? I break down the new Pew Research findings here: aiandacademia.substack.com/p/how-americ...

Leading American research universities cut PhD admissions by 15%. Another sign of the Trump administration's impact on higher ed. This will have long term impacts.

Morning thought, while waiting for HVAC tech: 2026 might be the year which pushed the world away from fossil fuels, to renewables. The war on Iran made petroleum appear more risky. June-July heat waves made quite an impression. And an extra-powerful El Niño wrecks havoc.

Virginia takes a big step, allowing the sale of recreational cannabis:

Finally a storm hit us. Just a little, short one, but took the temp from 96 to 75.

How many educators, students, and campuses were hit over 2024-2025? Grim, useful reporting from the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack:

Potato salad is an abomination. That is all.

One ideal Trump moment. Ht @notjessewalker.bsky.social

We found an astonishing building in a tiny West Virginia town, a vast stone structure right on the main road. It was abandoned and dangerously decayed, but we explored as best we could.

Today we cracked 101° F. Weather.com says "Feels Like 103°" now.

Even in nature I find infinite corridors and vanishing lines. (This is from our Thursday-Friday stay at the Lake Shawnee abandoned amusement park in West Virginia. I'll share the creepy photos later.)

Even Heaven's IT Guy is too hot: youtube.com/shorts/LPV8s...

For July 4th I give you all William Blake!

Hear index here just reached 102.

From last night's walk.

With my wife at the haunted, er abandoned amusement park:

Abandoned ferris wheel.

Now *this* is how to celebrate the 4th. Kids, the 1970s were a different time.

Meanwhile, from The Onion:

Working late. I'm gonna need a jolt of Bagger 288!

@aaup.org statement against 3-year BA/BS degrees: www.aaup.org/news/three-y...

Greetings from one of yesterday's visitors.

An interesting movie, but one thought: it's like a Doctor Who story, with an American doctor.

Whew - but it shouldn't have been close.

"At intellectually corrupt Princeton, and among the nation’s intellectually corrupt elites, too little ever changes." Let @billmckibben.bsky.social break down the damning @propublica.org story about a key academic paper on addressing climate change: billmckibben.substack.com/p/youre-payi...

On that Galloway character:

I was delighted to be interviewed by Michael LaMagna on the New Books in Higher Education podcast. We talked about my Peak Higher Ed book, futures work, and more. newbooksnetwork.com/peak-higher-ed @hopkinspress.bsky.social

"We were warned":

Campus closures, mergers, and cuts: here's my latest survey from summer 2026. bryanalexander.org/horizon-scan...

Here's one of the clearest, most evident benefits to reducing oil-burning cars. You save lives, right away.

Yesterday Ceredwyn and I went to the Washington, DC reflecting pool. It actually took some doing to get there, as large chunks of the National Mall were blocked off by fences, barriers, construction, and various troops. (1/n)

Today's infinite corridor comes from a federal building in Washington, DC:

Some days I use archive.is more often than any other website.

Once again, Trump threatens to destroy Iran as a nation:

Seen while walking around DC.

Out for a date.

How can colleges and universities best teach neurodivergent students? Here's our full Future Trends Forum conversation with Dr. Jennifer Pusateri, author of the new book, _A Practical Guide to Teaching Neurodivergent College Students_. youtu.be/X2rYNGcbhdM

Good for them! Climate.us

Gregg Phillips, who claimed to have teleported to a Waffle House, is leaving the Trump administration "for personal reasons." www.thedailybeast.com/trump-goon-w... There is live video of his exit:

Johns Hopkins University laid off >100 staff, due to federal funding cuts: www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

A concise summary of an anti-AI in education argument:

Virginia and Ohio join movement to create a national model for three-year undergrad degrees: virginiamercury.com/briefs/virgi...

My wife reached out to my face to remove a hair from one of my cheeks, then laughed because it was an eyelash. "How long your eyelashes are!" Me: "Bah, this is nothing. In the glory days of the Centauri Republic, our eyelashes were *magnificent*!" For @straczynski.bsky.social